Memories of a Life Not Yet Lived (2)
by LittleMissLesMis
Summary: Oh you all know.


_Is This Chemistry..?_

Kabuto was anything but the stereotypical teenage boy; and frankly, he preferred it that way. It was more than just his appearance that set him apart, although the silver hair probably did add to the effect. No, it was his demeanor. He wasn't exactly socially eloquent, but nobody could deny that the boy's wit cut like a knife.

And that was why as he made his way into the third hour AP Chemistry, not a single person said a word to Kabuto. Ignoring the chatter of his classmates, the silver-haired boy slides into his seat and immediately begins preparing for the lab. A flash of annoyance flickers across the contours of his face as high pitched laughter fills the room, signaling the appearance of one of the singly most popular and annoying girls in school.

How the hell had Ino ended up in advanced Chemistry anyways? The most logical guess was that she was sleeping with her lab partner. Kabuto barely managed to hold back a roll of his eyes at the thought. God, men were such pricks sometimes.

"Alright, alright, that's enough chatter. The bell has rung people, so sit down and shut up." Most of the talk in the room dies down immediately as Miss Reni enters the room. Kabuto doesn't bother to look up, gaze trained on the textbook at his fingers.

"We've got a new student, so try to be less obnoxious than usual if you can help it." A scattering of laughter echoes across the room but Kabuto still doesn't bother to check out the new member of his class. Who cares, anyways? It wasn't like he or she would be any different than the rest. Besides, what could be more interesting than studying the effects of heating to form supersaturated solutions?

"Oi, Yakushi." A groan nearly slips from the silver-haired boy's lips, gaze finally flickering up from the pages of his textbook. A thin, pale girl with straight black hair and glasses catches his attention first, and it isn't hard to guess that she's the new student. Miss Reni's lips flick up into a smirk as she speaks, directing his gaze back to the snarky teacher.

"Looks like you'll finally have a lab partner, Yakushi, congratulations." It's obvious she enjoys assigning him a partner and Kabuto literally wishes he could bang his forehead into the metal table before him. There were a few reasons why he didn't have a lab partner, the foremost being that he couldn't stand to have other people messily measuring out chemicals and not properly cleaning lab materials.

Knowing better than to try to protest, he simply pulls his materials to one side of the desk to make room for the girl; attempting to calm his already frayed nerves. It's just a little social interaction, after all.

"Hello." A quiet, musical voice sounds beside him as the slim girl slides into the seat beside him. Up close it's easy to tell that she's not from America, or any English speaking nation for that matter. Her eyes are a deep blue, sapphire almost, and shaped like almonds. The contours of her face signal some sort of oriental ethnicity—Japanese, maybe? It's hard to tell.

"Hi." The word slips lamely from his lips and Kabuto whacks himself internally. Don't be rude, she's obviously new here so why don't you introduce yourself like a normal human being?

"I'm Kairi Yutani. It's nice to meet you." Before he can even form the correct response, it seems she's way ahead of him. Her pale lips pull up into a small smile, dark eyes analyzing him from behind her frames.

"..I'm Kabuto. Uh, Kabuto Yakushi." It takes him a moment to formulate the words, nearly stuttering over them for reasons he can't explain. It's difficult to be snarky to someone as polite and, well, lovely as she is.

A flicker of something akin to bemusement shows in Kairi's eyes before she pulls out her textbook, flipping through the pages.

"Miss Reni told me we would be doing a lab today working with supersaturated solutions." There's a pause as she glances up at him expectantly; delicate brows arching slightly.

"…Would you mind telling me the page number for the procedure?"

Kabuto simply stares for a moment, floored by her English and the fact that she doesn't seem terribly interested in anything but getting right to the point. He wouldn't have pegged her for the studious type, despite her ethnicity. He isn't much of one for stereotypes, after all.

"…Of course." He adds hastily, clearing his throat once. "Turn to page three hundred and ninety four."

Most of the other students have already begun their labs, and he's grateful for any opportunity to do something besides speak; pouring the appropriate amount of water into the two hundred and fifty milliliter beaker and setting it on the hot pad.

Chancing a sideways glance towards Kairi, he's a bit surprised to see her measuring out the appropriate amount of distilled water into a test tube, her dark brows furrowed in concentration. Usually that would annoy the hell out of him, but for some odd reason he can't bring himself to worry about inaccurate measurements.

Blue eyes flicker up to meet his as Kairi pauses in her actions, speaking in that same musical tone.

"This seems like a fairly basic lab for an advanced class." Her observation holds a hint of bemusement, and Kabuto can't help but wonder if she's actually making fun of him. It's difficult to tell with her quiet, polite nature.

"..Yes, well despite the title, some of the students in this class aren't too advanced." The quip slips from his lips before he can hold it back, and he groans internally. Way to sound like an ass from the get go, Kabuto.

To his relief and surprise, Kairi actually giggles at the remark, setting the test tube down in its container to raise a hand to her mouth.

"I suppose that's fair enough." Her lips part into another small smile, and Kabuto can barely hold back one of his own.

Kairi brushes a few strands of charcoal hair behind her ear, slender fingers catching in her hair. Her gaze flickers towards him and then away, and it takes him a moment to realize that—dear god he's actually /staring/ at her. Hastily, he glances away, returning his attention to the almost boiling beaker of water.

"Perhaps we should start adding some glucose to the water in the test tube..?" Her suggestion is quiet, a trace of bemusement hidden beneath inquisition. Kairi doesn't wait for his permission, unscrewing the lid of the container. She plucks the test tube out of the rack, holding outstretched towards him with a small smile.

"..Yes." That's the best reply he can conjure up as he takes the glass tube from her, nearly dropping it when her fingers brush up against his. He quickly pulls away, clearing his throat and figuring he probably shouldn't bother with any sort of apology—it'll just make him sound like even more of an idiot. Surely it's just his imagination, but if he didn't know better Kabuto would say that Kairi's cheeks look a tad flushed as she begins to spoon the powder into the tube.

Her eyes really are an almost unnerving shade of blue, flamed by thick dark lashes. He can't even remember ever seeing anybody with eyes like that before, and he nearly passes out when he realizes that he's giving more attention to this girl's appearance than to how much glucose she's measuring out for the experiment.

"There." She taps the metal lightly against the glass to rid it of any remaining powder, nodding once and setting the spoon down on the table. Kabuto takes the hint, handing the test tube to back to her. This time, he takes extra care to keep his fingers a safe distance away from hers.

Kairi adeptly places the test tube into the beaker of now boiling water, turning the temperature dial down a notch.

"I suppose now we wait." She shrugs her shoulders, lips curving up in a quiet sort of satisfaction. Kabuto realizes that she hasn't looked at the instructions in her book once, and he doesn't know whether to be alarmed or impressed.

Before he can come up with a decent reply, the bell signaling the end of class rings and Miss Reni claps her palms together.

"Alright, miscreants, leave your stuff on and come back to check on it during your free period. Try not to start any fights before then."

Students begin to shuffle out of the class almost immediately, and Kairi slips off of the chair and to her feet, the heels of her black flats clicking quietly on the tiled floor. She nods once, meeting his gaze briefly before making her way out of the classroom.

Kabuto simply sits for a moment before the smallest of smiles threatens to pull at the corners of his lips. Well, if he was stuck with a lab partner, Kairi Yutani certainly wasn't the worst choice.


End file.
